GaryMrMets
09-02-2003, 12:07 AM
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/news/nym_news.jsp?ymd=20030901&content_id=507120&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyn
09/01/2003 3:52 PM ET
Mets host picnic for kids of 9-11
By Kerry Sheridan / Special to MLB.com
NEW YORK -- The year after Anthony and Lenny Ragaglia's father died, the boys swore off baseball forever. Their dad, a firefighter in Engine 54 who was killed in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks, had also been their Little League coach. They couldn't imagine playing ball without him.
But this season, the boys, now 9 and 11, picked up their mitts and bats again, and played on a Staten Island Little League team named "Lenny Rags' Boys" in honor of their hero father. Last month, the team finished its first season undefeated.
"I think [my son] Lenny had something to do with that," said Maureen Ragaglia, the boys' grandmother.
On Monday, Anthony and Lenny sat at a picnic table outside Shea Stadium with their 12-year-old uncle, Steven, who is their father's youngest brother, and their grandparents, Maureen and Leonard. The three boys munched on hot dogs and hamburgers and kicked their legs back and forth under their seats as they waited for a chance to meet some of the Mets players and perhaps get an autograph or two.
The Ragaglias were among more than 450 children and family members who came out for a Labor Day picnic hosted by the Mets for a non-profit organization called Tuesday's Children, which aims to assist children who lost a parent on Sept. 11. The organization sponsors mentoring programs, counseling initiatives for teenagers, life management strategies for surviving spouses, and of course, picnics and parties so that kids can remember to be kids for awhile.
As the nation prepares to remember the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy, Tuesday's Children founder Chris Burke said the passage of time has done little to heal the wounds these children continue to suffer.
"It takes a year just for the shock to wear off," said Burke, whose brother Tom worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and perished when the towers fell. "Once the shock of the event wears off, then reality begins to set in. To our moms, to our kids, to ourselves, we realize what our life is, and it's very difficult."
Burke is also former employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, a company that lost 658 employees on Sept. 11. He said he could not go back to work after the tragedy, so he started Tuesday's Children in an effort to make sure the children of those killed are not forgotten. The organization's motto is "Here Today, Here Tomorrow," and it makes an 18-year commitment to each child it serves.
"I just like to see the smiles on their faces because they've been so unhappy," said Maureen Ragaglia. "They have good days and bad days. There are days when they just break down."
Firefighter Lenny Ragaglia had been a big Mets fan, his mother said, and when he coached, he never liked to lose. He and 14 others were killed when the Manhattan company of Engine 54 and Ladder 4 responded to the World Trade Center. Ragaglia's remains were never recovered. Maureen said even though it has been almost two years since he passed, it feels "like yesterday."
"It'll never get better," she said, fighting back tears.
On Sept. 11 this year, Lenny's kid brother Steve will be among those to read from a list of names of the dead during a commemoration ceremony in lower Manhattan. Then, the family will go to the cemetery where a headstone bears his name.
"It's hard because we know he's not there," said Maureen. "But we feel we're closer to him when we go there."
Monday, though, the three boys did not appear to have their minds on anything but baseball. When someone announced that it was time to get into the autograph line, they scrambled to grab bare baseballs from their coats and they rushed to the gate.
Al Leiter, John Franco, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel and Vance Wilson were on hand to sign autographs. Glavine said making the kids aware that they haven't been forgotten, especially as time passes, is more important than ever.
"So many of us identify with what happened that day and with what everybody went through," said Glavine. "Sometimes you kind of lose track of so many people that have the day-to-day struggles and the lingering effects that go along with it. For these kids, they live it every day. It's great for us to come out and give the kids something to look forward to."
Franco, who has been active in Sept. 11 charities and has appeared at Tuesday's Children events before, said he wants to make sure that history stays fresh in the public consciousness.
"We need to make everyone aware that we shouldn't forget what happened," said Franco. "People tend to forget. Two years ago, some of these people were living normal lives and they lost that in the blink of an eye."
For the better part of an hour, the players signed bats, balls, caps, T-shirts, even a woman's crutch, exchanging grins and jokes with the children.
As Burke watched the streams of smiling, sometimes gaping, children pass by, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"The Mets understand that by putting themselves out a little bit," said Burke, "they are making a big difference for these families."
At the end of the picnic, Burke presented the Mets players with a plaque of appreciation. Then the kids took the field and lined up along the warning track while the National Anthem was sung. All the families who participated in the picnic received tickets for the game.
The Ragaglia boys went through each of the two autograph lines so they could get all five players to sign their baseballs. Though they were too shy to speak to the athletes, the boys lit up when they made eye contact with the players, and they left with a smile.
"It's great when they realize we're just like them," said Wilson.
Kerry Sheridan is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
09/01/2003 3:52 PM ET
Mets host picnic for kids of 9-11
By Kerry Sheridan / Special to MLB.com
NEW YORK -- The year after Anthony and Lenny Ragaglia's father died, the boys swore off baseball forever. Their dad, a firefighter in Engine 54 who was killed in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks, had also been their Little League coach. They couldn't imagine playing ball without him.
But this season, the boys, now 9 and 11, picked up their mitts and bats again, and played on a Staten Island Little League team named "Lenny Rags' Boys" in honor of their hero father. Last month, the team finished its first season undefeated.
"I think [my son] Lenny had something to do with that," said Maureen Ragaglia, the boys' grandmother.
On Monday, Anthony and Lenny sat at a picnic table outside Shea Stadium with their 12-year-old uncle, Steven, who is their father's youngest brother, and their grandparents, Maureen and Leonard. The three boys munched on hot dogs and hamburgers and kicked their legs back and forth under their seats as they waited for a chance to meet some of the Mets players and perhaps get an autograph or two.
The Ragaglias were among more than 450 children and family members who came out for a Labor Day picnic hosted by the Mets for a non-profit organization called Tuesday's Children, which aims to assist children who lost a parent on Sept. 11. The organization sponsors mentoring programs, counseling initiatives for teenagers, life management strategies for surviving spouses, and of course, picnics and parties so that kids can remember to be kids for awhile.
As the nation prepares to remember the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy, Tuesday's Children founder Chris Burke said the passage of time has done little to heal the wounds these children continue to suffer.
"It takes a year just for the shock to wear off," said Burke, whose brother Tom worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and perished when the towers fell. "Once the shock of the event wears off, then reality begins to set in. To our moms, to our kids, to ourselves, we realize what our life is, and it's very difficult."
Burke is also former employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, a company that lost 658 employees on Sept. 11. He said he could not go back to work after the tragedy, so he started Tuesday's Children in an effort to make sure the children of those killed are not forgotten. The organization's motto is "Here Today, Here Tomorrow," and it makes an 18-year commitment to each child it serves.
"I just like to see the smiles on their faces because they've been so unhappy," said Maureen Ragaglia. "They have good days and bad days. There are days when they just break down."
Firefighter Lenny Ragaglia had been a big Mets fan, his mother said, and when he coached, he never liked to lose. He and 14 others were killed when the Manhattan company of Engine 54 and Ladder 4 responded to the World Trade Center. Ragaglia's remains were never recovered. Maureen said even though it has been almost two years since he passed, it feels "like yesterday."
"It'll never get better," she said, fighting back tears.
On Sept. 11 this year, Lenny's kid brother Steve will be among those to read from a list of names of the dead during a commemoration ceremony in lower Manhattan. Then, the family will go to the cemetery where a headstone bears his name.
"It's hard because we know he's not there," said Maureen. "But we feel we're closer to him when we go there."
Monday, though, the three boys did not appear to have their minds on anything but baseball. When someone announced that it was time to get into the autograph line, they scrambled to grab bare baseballs from their coats and they rushed to the gate.
Al Leiter, John Franco, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel and Vance Wilson were on hand to sign autographs. Glavine said making the kids aware that they haven't been forgotten, especially as time passes, is more important than ever.
"So many of us identify with what happened that day and with what everybody went through," said Glavine. "Sometimes you kind of lose track of so many people that have the day-to-day struggles and the lingering effects that go along with it. For these kids, they live it every day. It's great for us to come out and give the kids something to look forward to."
Franco, who has been active in Sept. 11 charities and has appeared at Tuesday's Children events before, said he wants to make sure that history stays fresh in the public consciousness.
"We need to make everyone aware that we shouldn't forget what happened," said Franco. "People tend to forget. Two years ago, some of these people were living normal lives and they lost that in the blink of an eye."
For the better part of an hour, the players signed bats, balls, caps, T-shirts, even a woman's crutch, exchanging grins and jokes with the children.
As Burke watched the streams of smiling, sometimes gaping, children pass by, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"The Mets understand that by putting themselves out a little bit," said Burke, "they are making a big difference for these families."
At the end of the picnic, Burke presented the Mets players with a plaque of appreciation. Then the kids took the field and lined up along the warning track while the National Anthem was sung. All the families who participated in the picnic received tickets for the game.
The Ragaglia boys went through each of the two autograph lines so they could get all five players to sign their baseballs. Though they were too shy to speak to the athletes, the boys lit up when they made eye contact with the players, and they left with a smile.
"It's great when they realize we're just like them," said Wilson.
Kerry Sheridan is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.